BY
Pippa Jacks

WTM 2018: North Carolina shrugs off Hurricane Florence

North Carolina is "wide open" for tourism again following Hurricane Florence, the tourist board has stressed.

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"Some media reports suggested that North Carolina was closed after the hurricane but some major highways being flooded for a few days was about it."

The hurricane – the wettest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Carolinas – caused damage primarily through flooding when it hit in September.

Heidi Walters, director of partner industry relations at Visit North Carolina, said all tourist attractions and infrastructure had since reopened.

"A few hotels have taken the opportunity to renovate, but other than that we are wide open for business," she said. "Some media reports suggested that North Carolina was closed after the hurricane but some major highways being flooded for a few days was about it."

The tourist board suspended its autumn campaign in the immediate wake of the hurricane, but has since ramped its activity back up, especially for the domestic market, Walters said.

"Our shoulder season arrivals were impacted but we don’t think that in the long-term there will be much difference," she reported.

New product in the state includes the Mustang Owner’s Museum, which opens in April 2019 on the 55th anniversary of the first Mustang car being introduced. The Wright Brothers National Memorial has also recently reopened following an extensive renovation.

Many hotels are in the pipeline for the state, including 7,700 rooms to be added in the city of Charlotte alone by 2022.